By Sainabou Sambou
Two police officers stationed at the Banjul International Airport on Tuesday testified before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the High Court of The Gambia in the ongoing arson trial of former Gambian soldier, Abdoulie Sanyang.
The first witness, Police Officer Filijeh Dibba, who has served in the Gambia Police Force for 21 years, told the court that he received a call from his superior, Commissioner Ousman Mboge, instructing him to go to the Immigration Department with his colleague, Corporal Kemo Korteh, to ensure that the accused person’s name was placed on the stop list.
“My commissioner told me to make sure that Sanyang’s name was entered into the stop list so that the system would alert officers if he attempted to travel in or out of The Gambia,” Dibba testified.
Dibba said Commissioner Mboge also sent him a short video interview between Abdoulie Sanyang and journalist Peter Gomez, which he later showed to his colleague, Officer Jabou Sarr. According to Dibba, Sarr immediately recognized the individual in the video and confirmed that she had seen the same man, wearing the same shirt, at the airport earlier that day.
Following this, Dibba said he, Sarr, and Corporal Korteh went to the terminal to check with immigration officials, but were told there was no record of Abdoulie in their system.
“I called my commissioner and asked what we should do if we saw Abdoulie,” Dibba continued. “He told us to arrest him and take him to the police station, as that was the directive he had received.”
The witness said the officers began searching for Sanyang around the airport, including the terminal and nearby restaurants. After several minutes, Dibba said they received a call from Corporal Korteh informing them that he had seen the accused.
“We rushed to the location, found Abdoulie, and arrested him. He complied with us, and we took him to the airport police station,” Dibba testified.
He told the court that they informed the supervisor on duty about the arrest and later returned to collect the suspect’s luggage and the D1,000 airport fee he had paid. When they returned to the station, Interpol officers were present, and the accused was handed over to them.
During cross-examination, Defense Counsel J. Darboe questioned Dibba about the process of writing his statement.
“Were you the one who wrote those statements?” Counsel Darboe asked.
“Yes, I did,” Dibba replied.
“Did you type the statement for Kemo Korteh?” the lawyer continued.
“No, I didn’t,” Dibba answered.
“Did you type the statement for Jabou Sarr?”
“No, I did not,” the witness responded.
The second witness, Corporal Kemo Korteh, corroborated parts of Dibba’s testimony. He stated that the incident occurred on Saturday, August 17, 2025, at Banjul International Airport.
He recalled that Commissioner Mboge had called and instructed him and his colleagues to investigate and locate Abdoulie Sanyang.
“We went to the Immigration Department at the airport, but they told us that Abdoulie was not in their system,” Korteh said.
The officers then visited the offices of Turkish Airlines and Brussels Airlines to check passenger lists. Turkish Airlines told them Abdoulie was not listed, while Brussels Airlines referred them back to the Immigration Department.
Korteh said he later met a man named Lama, who informed him that he had seen Abdoulie around the area and that the accused mentioned he was traveling, although he did not specify which airline he was using.
“I went to the VVIP lounge and the restaurant to look for him, but could not find him,” Korteh testified. “After a while, I saw Abdoulie and called my colleagues at the departure hall to come.”
Korteh said he approached Abdoulie, identified himself as a police officer, and carried out the arrest.
“He complied with the arrest,” Korteh told the court. “I recognized him because I had seen his pictures on social media and also received his photo from my commissioner, Mboge.” Counsel Jobarteh represented the State, while Counsel J. Darboe appeared for the accused.
The case has been adjourned to November 5 at 2:15 p.m. for continuation of the hearing.
